As said, you won't be able to wear armour and spar until you have reached some basic skills, which may take some time (at my place, you get to wear armour after 3 or 4 months, training twice per week). Also, there aren't many fancy moves in kendo: there's only 4 basic moves with slight variations, and many people get tired of it before they even get to spar.

I checked out William Vandry's website and thought it looked I should investigate more. JNP, you said you have had very positive experiences there, would you care to elaborate? Do you only study BJJ? And the lame question...are the prices reasonable?

Hello, I am new to the board and new to martial arts. I have always been interested but never took the time or initiative to do anything about it. That is soon to change, and in January I plan to begin participating in some form of martial art. I have not narrowed down on what discipline I plan to study and would like some guidance and suggestions.

I know that MMA is very popular. I tried Judo once as a youngster and it was fun. I am looking for a way to exercise, and learn something new. I would like to participate in something that has sparring as a key component of the training.

I searched, and found mostly recommendations for BJJ in the Austin area. I was wondering if there was a list of good schools that I should further investigate and a list of schools to avoid. I want to go somewhere that the instructors will actually teach me something, not to just go and get thrown around by the more advanced students…if I wanted to do that I would just start picking fights in bars.

I say I am partially leaning towards Kendo, but am also interested in learning an unarmed martial art as well. I am by no means locked into anything in particular. The key is good instruction and sparring.

I am open to suggestions and comments about what is available in Austin, TX. Thanks!

I'm just going to say good luck in finding something. BJJ sounds good, but if you don't want to join it, that's ok, it's your choice.

I checked out William Vandry's website and thought it looked I should investigate more. JNP, you said you have had very positive experiences there, would you care to elaborate? Do you only study BJJ? And the lame question...are the prices reasonable?

I was going to send you a PM, but you don't have enough posts yet. Yes I enjoy the hell out of my training and William is the most gifted instructor I've ever had. He is amazing from a technical standpoint and he is also very good at breaking down the techniques in an easy to learn manner.

There is no ego on our mats. William won't allow it. Advanced students regularly help newer ones rather than crushing them. Overall I have found William's place to be an excellent learning environment for almost five years now.

Honestly though, RangerMan, I've heard other MA students say the same thing, Bjj and otherwise. As an old wrestler, Bjj was right up my alley. I was just fortunate enough to find a place that suited me in attitude and in sparring frequency (every class).

I still suggest trying out as many places and styles as you possibly can. You never know what might suit you best.

As for the fees, it would be improper for me to discuss these online. When you have enough posts, 10 as I recall, PM me and I will discuss this further with you. I will tell you that Bjj blackbelts like my instructor tend toward the more expensive side in the MA world.

It's primarily striking, but we do incorporate some ground-fighting into the curriculum. Classes four times a week, 2-3 hrs long and $100 per month. I've had big results in terms of both over-all health and self-defense. If you're interested I can send you some more info.

"It does not matter who the master is. It does not matter what the face looks like. The masters are of the Qimen school of qigong/meditation which is related to Zen. The master wears white robes, and the predecessor master wears bright gold robes. The qimen school travels the univers and is not restricted to what paradise they live in. It has many masters" -Serious Harm

No problem, I would rather discuss the "financial side" of MA over PM. I'll fire off a PM when I get the requisite posts.

I'll definitely look around before I make a final decision. Too bad I need to wait till January...no time to dedicate til anything until the holidays are over. The applied Kung Fu looks interesting too, I will have to sit in on a class there as well.

Anytime dude............just come at the start of class. You can watch or work out, whatever you feel like.

Classes are MWF 7pm, or Sat. at 1pm.

"It does not matter who the master is. It does not matter what the face looks like. The masters are of the Qimen school of qigong/meditation which is related to Zen. The master wears white robes, and the predecessor master wears bright gold robes. The qimen school travels the univers and is not restricted to what paradise they live in. It has many masters" -Serious Harm

I WAS IN AUSTIN ON MONDAY AND I TRIED TO FIND THE VANDRY SCHOOL SO MY MOM'S FRIEND'S FAT DAUGHTER COULD DO SOMETHING ACTIVE WITH HER LIFE AND FOR ****'S SAKE WE COULDN'T FIND THE DAMNED PLACE. I WAS SO PISSED.

But seriously, it sounded like a fine school, and the price was right. I called Dave Thomas, and he was really great on the phone, but I wouldn't have suggested it to this girl, Leslie. They train no-gi, and leslie is an overweight 13 year old (5'7'', probably 200 pounds, but a lot of muscle in there, big giant broad shoulders--she makes me feel TINY, and no one makes me feel tiny), so I figured she'd be all insecure and want to only roll in full body pajamas. That and it was pricey.